USC's Boatwright Pulls Name From NBA Draft List

USC sophomore forward Bennie Boatwright has withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft list and will return for his junior season. “I have decided to return to USC for my junior year to further my education and work on developing my basketball skills,” said Boatwright. “I look forward to an exciting 2017-18 season with my teammates.”Boatwright led USC with a 15.1 scoring average during the 2016-17 season and averaged 4.5 rebounds. The Trojan co-captain was limited to 19 games due to a knee injury early in the season, but finished the season strong by averaging 17.2 points in his nine conference games. He helped the Trojans set a school record with 26 wins and NCAA Tournament wins over Providence and SMU before falling to Baylor. With Boatwright’s announcement and Elijah Stewart’s announcement of his return last Tuesday USC will have virtually the entire squad back for the 2017-18 season, with the addition of freshmen Charles O’Bannon Jr., Jordan Usher and Victory Uyaelunmo and sophomore Derryck Thornton who had to sit out last season after transferring from Duke.